Hocking Hills, Ohio

Road trips. They are a summer tradition. Our recent road trip adventure through the heartland of the country had us crossing the state of Ohio. We were planning on just passing through when we stumbled upon the Hocking Hills, Ohio area. The images we saw online prompted us to do some research and schedule an overnight in the region so we could spend an afternoon hiking at Hocking Hills State Park. Here’s how we spent our time.

Old Man’s Cave

Our first stop while in the Hocking Hills area was to Old Man’s Cave. There are seven popular hikes in the hills area and Old Man’s Cave is very popular. Since we had limited time in the area, we opted to do three of the seven hikes. We stayed in Logan, OH the night before so the Old Man’s Cave hike was nearby. The hikes we chose in Hocking Hills are all short between 1 to 2 miles round trip. The short hikes allowed for a slow morning, a chance to sleep in and a big breakfast at the Hocking Hills Diner before we hit the trails.

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Once on the trail to Old Man’s Cave, you’ll cross over unique stone bridges and scurry through tunnels all while surrounded by layers of Blackhand sandstone. Lush vegetation sweeps over the rocks and meanders over the cliff faces.

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The Old Man’s Cave trail is a 1.5 miles one-way loop trail that starts and ends at the visitor’s center. All the hikes in the area are highly trafficked, meaning the parking lots fill easily. Spots open quickly, however, as the hikes are short and take under an hour to complete. You’ll want to stop frequently for photos and to marvel at the beauty of the area.

Cedar Falls

Trail access to Cedar Falls was a short 10-minute car ride from Old Man’s Cave. This hike is also short, just 1/2 mile. It is steeper and involves climbing many more stairs than the Old Man’s Cave hike.

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At the halfway point of this hike, you’ll come to Ice Falls. The falls are seasonal and freeze during the winter months. We were here in July, so no ice falls obviously. As we made our way to Cedar Falls, we say a large turtle leisurely swimming just below a foot bridge.

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The fifty-foot Cedar Falls is the highlight of this hike. I was pleasantly surprised with the amount of water in the falls, given it was the middle of summer. Though there are signs prohibiting it, many visitors wade into the water. The photo above is a rare moment when no one was under the falls.

Ash Cave

Our final hike of the day was at nearby Ash Cave. The trail to the cave and seasonal waterfall is just over a half-mile and has the most steps of the hikes we did while in Hocking Hills. The first part of the trail is flat and you are surrounded by hemlock trees. The best part of this hike is when you reach the 700-foot horseshoe-shaped rim of the cave and the runoff waterfall.

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The 90 foot trickling waterfall at Ash Cave is my favorite falls in the hills. It’s quiet and sparkles in the afternoon sunshine.

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Hocking Hills, Ohio is more than just an area to pass through. It’s a hiking destination. To read more about our Heartland of America Road Trip, see posts on stops in Springfield, IL, Gateway Arch National Park, Cedar Point Amusement Park, Mammoth Cave National Park, Cuyahoga Valley National Park and Indiana Dunes National Parks.

Happy Adventuring, Rochelle